


We're all trapped here

by Jezabel



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Doctor/Patient, Electroconvulsive Therapy, F/F, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Stalking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28261116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jezabel/pseuds/Jezabel
Summary: After becoming the witness of murders in his dreams, Quentin gets attacked and wakes up in a facility he's never seen before. He gets to meet the many patients and doctors, the event getting stranger around them each day.
Relationships: Herman Carter | The Doctor/Quentin Smith, Jake Park/Caleb Quinn | The Deathslinger, Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)/Felix Richter, Steve Harrington/Michael Myers
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	1. It's only a dream!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> Long time no see.  
> This fic is just an excuse to get all my rarepairs and friendships in a different setting haha.  
> This is my first time writing a fic before I know the ending myself so if it stops because I get busy, etc... I'm terribly sorry.  
> Also, the tag will be changed and added, there will be almost every characters and some bonus ones too!

He’s felt like this before, a long time ago, when he was way younger. When was the last time this happened? This blurry feeling, as he went in and out of consciousness, incapable of seeing, even understanding where he is. It was so long ago. He fell from his bike? His dad was there, at the hospital. He was talking to him but he couldn’t hear, his voice reverbering around his head and echoing to the back of his brain, suffocating him a bit until other voices silenced him. It felt the same, but the pain was different, it wasn’t his leg. What happened? He remembers so little, yet his brain is yelling at him to stay alert, in a constant panic. He felt it as they settled him in a different bed, harder, needles piercing his arm even though he could barely feel it, the pain on his chest slowly bringing him back as he took a deep breath.

“Restrain his arms! We need to act fast!”

The pain was overflowing again as he screamed it away as hard as he could, his chest burning him. He tried to look at the wound but a sturdy hand kept his chin up, his eyes meeting with black ones contrasting with the white around them.

“Don’t look, it will only worsen the pain.”

The voice was deep, calm, way too calm even, as the panic surrounding him was only adding to the one inside him.

“Don’t…. me sleep…..”

He felt another hand in his hair, comforting, petting him as kindly as it could.

“Don’t worry. No one can get you here.”

The voices and beeps of the machine surrounding him seemed to get farther and farther, everything darkening, only those eyes looking back as he fell slowly into a slumber. That was the strongest one he ever felt.

_____________________________________________

It took some time to remember what happened to him as he opened his eyes in a dark room. He could guess light filtering through a window behind him, turning his head towards it as best he could, whining as he feels the pain on his chest tearing a bit under his bandages. Which made him realise, he was healed. Was he in the hospital still? That would explain the dull room he was in but it was a bit too furnished to be a normal hospital room. He was definitely not in Springwood, but he doesn’t remember leaving it. Did they build a new place there and he never knew about it? That’s seemed a bit far-stretched.

The silhouette moving on the bed opposite to his made him jump. He didn’t even realise someone was on it. 

“Hi!”

Was he dreaming this? How is someone just giving him such a warm welcome in such a setting? How come there were no doctors around?

“You.. feeling ok? I know I was pretty groggy when I first came here.”

Another patient? That was an odd way to explain that but considering he wasn’t recognizing his surroundings, his brain was starting to panic again.

“You did sleep for like.. 4 days or so.”

He frowned and finally tried to speak up.

“4 days?”

His voice was way deeper than usual, a bit broken too, proving to him he hadn’t used it in a long while. He tries to turn a bit to look at the young man sitting on his own bed. They seemed the same age, he had a hospital gown over a long simple shirt, brown eyes completed with brown hair old-fashioned styled, beauty spots here and there over his face. His smile was warm but clearly a bit worried. He tried to leave the bed without success.

“Hey hey hey! What are you doing? You’re still wounded!”

He left his bed to get closer, trying to stop him from getting up.

“I need to go back, I need to warn them…”

“It’s... It’s fine. They probably know about… whatever it is you wanna warn them.”

“I need to go out!”

“Man, no one gets out this soon anyw-”

He didn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence, the door opening to a flock of doctors coming in, making the guy go back to his bed hastily, overlooked by some of them.

“We told you to stay in bed, Harrington.”

“The dude was going to reopen his wounds! Was I supposed to just stand there and watch?”

They turned their back on him to go back to Quentin.

“... You’re welcome.”

Quentin frowned, tensing as he felt hands taking his arms and legs, lifting him onto a stretcher without any question asked and taken away from the bedroom. He looked around as he was being pushed through a long corridor, aware he wasn’t going to be able to run away as soon as he saw an exit but he might as well locate one. Sadly, he quickly realised they were on the first floor of what seemed like a gigantic building judging by how long his trip down the corridor was. The building seemed old, but kept clean, despite the fact that he didn’t think stone walls were the most sanitary things for a hospital. If he even was in a hospital anymore. They got to an old-fashioned metallic elevator, the door sliding close before they went up to what seemed to be the 4th floor. They pushed him out of the metallic door, in another long, yet less furnished corridor. He kept looking around, frowning as he heard someone yelling from one of the doors, trying to make out what was happening.

“IF YOU HURT HIM EVER AGAIN-”

Some doctors left him to rush to the door and he barely got to see the face of a man who was beating another, suddenly grabbed and took away from the office. He entered one before he could see his face properly, left with a woman with two others next to her, sat at a center desk in a white room filled with documents all over the walls. 

“Leave us.”

He watches as the other doctors leave the room, trying to get a bit up to look who he was being left with.

“Hello, Mr. Smith. Did you sleep well?”

Only the woman in the center was speaking, long black hair falling neatly on her shoulders and back, the girls next to her with their hair tied up in a bun, all of them wearing a neat black suit.

“You can come and sit in front of us if you’d like.”

He slowly got off the bed, shivering as his feet touched the cold marble floor covered in black and white tiles. He carefully made his way to the chair in front of the desk and sat down.

“How are you feeling?”

“Cold, in pain, confused and groggy but overall I’m ok.”

They smiled to his humor even though it wasn’t supposed to be funny.

“I’m terribly sorry, I thought they’d give you something to cover you a bit more up at least. Let me get that for you.”

Clever tactics. Making them treat him with indifference so these women would seem warm and welcoming to him. But he wasn’t stupid, and his brain was still on high alert. One woman brought him slippers and a blanket to cover himself up before going back next to the woman at the desk. He sat a bit better and waited, realising they wanted him to speak first.

“Where am I?”

“The Fog Sanitary Facility. We are trying to bring back as many people as we can who claim to have assisted supernatural events to the right path. We believe that you have been targeted by a serial killer because you were on the verge to reveal his location. You were found with a slash across your chest, unconscious in front of your porch. You were barely breathing. Thankfully, here, you will have the chance and the time to recover from your physical and mental wounds, and be protected from him to hurt you again.”

He wanted to scream. He wanted to protest. He wanted to tell them he knew what he saw and he knew what happened. But did he? He couldn’t even remember when and how he got attacked. Was it just a coincidence? Was it his imagination? He didn't think it was but he knew full well saying that to them would just make things harder. That didn't mean he couldn't express his concern.

"I saw someone fighting on the way here. Am I going to be hurt?"

Silence. He didn't like that. The woman in the middle frowned a bit before almost whispering.

"There was a fight?"

The girl on her left leaned to her ear to tell her something Quentin wished he could get bits of. The middle one nodded before going back to him.

"No one will hurt you unless you try to hurt them first. We do not believe hurting our patients will help them. I'm sorry you had to see that, you'll get plenty of time to meet with that man, you'll probably understand what happened if you ask him."

No secrecy, huh? He feels like that's going to change.

"Can I get visits? From my dad?"

He knew the answer to that one. He just wanted to see how they were going to lie to him.

"Unfortunately, to keep our facility at maximum security, to protect our patients and doctors, we do not allow external contact. However, we will let you send and receive mail."

He nodded. He knew what to do. Play the good boy and he will be out before he can ask about it. He heard the doctors behind him coming back.

"Well Mr.Smith, I'm afraid we're out of time. They will escort you back to your room."

He barely got time to say goodbye before he got held and sat back on the stretcher, pulled out of the room and pushed right back where he came from. The path back to the room seemed way shorter for some reasons. He got back to the room, stood up before the whole team left with the stretcher, closing the door behind them. He looked at it for a while, taking it all in before looking at his room a bit better. Well. Their room.

His roommate was still there, sitting on his bed, looking at him. He decided to keep looking. The room was a bit empty, two single beds and two desks, one that has some of his stuff on it, notes and books, his bass on the side. There was one door between his roommates bed and desk, he slowly walked to it, opening to discover a bathroom with a bathtub and toilet, looking back to his bed and opening the door next to it to find out a closet with some of his and his roommate’s clothes. He closed it before walking to his bed, sitting down and letting go of a long sigh he didn’t even know he was holding in. Minutes passed by before he finally decided to look up and let his eyes meet with the ones who didn’t let go of him for this entire time.

“.... Hi.”

“You’re taking all this much better than I did.”

He had a laugh he tried to hold back.

“What did you do when you got here?”

“I slammed the door for so long, my wrist was hurting for days.”

Well, that made sense. He wanted to do that. He wanted to scream until he got attention and got brought up to the highest authority, ready to kill them unless they let him go. But he knew this wasn’t going to happen. He doesn’t know how exactly, but he could feel this place wasn’t somewhere you would get out easily. If it was, everyone would’ve heard of it already. So it was better to just let go for now, give yourself the “good boy” label enough until you can push boundaries. Or just so no one will be suspicious when trouble occurs. And he was definitely going to cause trouble.

“Why are you here? You don’t seem like the type of guy to get locked up in this kind of place.”

The guy on his bed was wearing a blue sweater with a shirt under it now, he got rid of the hospital blouse, with a pair of jeans and his hair neatly done. He looked like he was supposed to be in some upper class neighborhood or frat house. Not here locked up with… Him. 

“Well, I know we’re not listened to here, so I can tell you I guess.”

He straightened up a bit, thinking on how to put his sentence correctly. He crossed his arms on his chest as he crossed his legs too.

“With some of my friends we found a young girl that needed our help. She’s far from normal. Able to use some sort of telekinetic power or something… And since she became our friend, we started discovering the world around us changing. To cut it short, we found out some sort of alien being that could slip from its world to get to ours. We killed some, we tried to keep it a secret from many.. But I don’t know how, we got found out by…”

He pointed to the ceiling and around the room.

“.. This.”

He let a moment go by, trying to settle his thoughts.

“We didn’t want the kids, our friends, to get captured by some weird people again. So me and my ex volunteered to come there, willingly giving ourselves to them while telling them we were the only one to know about these creatures.”

Quentin nodded, that guy was way tougher than he looked. Maybe he shouldn’t judge by his appearance alone.

“Anyway, I don’t know what they’re planning to do with us. They said they were trying to make us realise we dreamt the whole thing or something… But let’s be honest, that’s not going to happen. Not after how long we’ve been fighting.”

“Yeah.. They said the same thing to me….”

They both seemed relieved that they thought the same way about this.

“Can I… ask you what happened to you?”

Quentin took a deep breath, should he tell the guy? But on the other hand… wasn’t he the only one he could trust right now?

“I… started to see people in my dreams. Nothing too worrisome until they started getting murdered. It’s like I would meet with them and then this guy would show up, turn the dream into an actual nightmare and kill them before me. But no one ever noticed me, I was just walking around, a stranger in someone’s dream. And then, one day, I saw on the news that a girl got found dead in her bed after she drowned, claws marks on her arms. The day before, I saw it in my dreams. I started checking more and more news and every time I dreamt of a murder, it would come up in real life. I thought I was the problem but most importantly, I knew I had to do something, so I ran to the police station… I don’t remember much after that but I think the man found me… And tried to kill me in my dreams.”

The boy in front of him listened the whole time, nodding here and there, before whispering.

“That’s fucked up…”

Quentin laughed through his nose a bit, surprised and relieved that he was being believed by someone for once, without an ounce of doubt. He started to feel some of the medication wear off, his body getting heavier.

“How long have you been here?”

“Not much to be honest… I wish I could tell you how the facility is and how the others are but… I haven't been out of this room yet. ”

“I see… I guess we’ll discover that together.”

“From what I understand, we all get assigned to a doctor specialized in our ‘cases’.”

“I see… Do you think I-”

His vision blurred and he almost fell from his bed, the guy hurrying out of his to go and hold his shoulders so he wouldn’t face plant directly on the ground. He helped him lie down.

“You’re starting to go again, their medicine is a bit hard to get rid off for a while. It’s ok, I’ll be here if you need me.”

“What’s your name?”

With the remaining strength he had, he slowly brought his hand up and smiled when he felt his joining.

“Steve. You?”

“I’m Quentin.”


	2. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a well needed rest, Quentin and Steve finally get to explore around the facility, and meet the many patients with them around the place.  
> The day of their first appointments draws near.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyyy, how you doin'?  
> There's a lot of infos in this chapter so bare with me (and bare with it), a lot of loved and known characters too so buckle up!!

Quentin had to rest in his room with Steve for two days, even though the latter have been told he could leave, he refused to, making sure his roommate was safe and resting. On the second day, since Quentin could finally walk around without needing help, they decided to get out and discover the facility. The place was huge and, despite what they thought, they were rather free to walk around it without being supervised H24. But they realised really quickly that getting out of here was going to be tough, even though they were free to go where they wanted to. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors were off-limits, being the doctors’ private quarters and offices. There was also the access to a second building that was completely blocked.. At least to them. It was saved for some exercises other patients were going through. And they got to meet said patients.

They both got out of their room in the morning, the cold winter setting in, filtering through the old walls. They shivered as they silently walked to the cafeteria, sometimes interrupted by some yawns. Quentin was wearing his usual black shirt and jacket, Steve seemed to have a full collection of sweaters he kept going through. The hospital did give them blouses but they only get to wear them when going for their appointments, which they still haven’t got yet. They both grabbed a tray and started getting some stuff from the buffet there, looking over at the cook who was serving soup. No one really knew if the cook was a patient here too or not, the others helping him were definitely patients too. But he never actually talked back to any of them. No one could complain, his food was delicious.  
After grabbing what they wanted, they went to their usual table, someone already sat there.

“Hi, Felix!”

The man barely waved at them, seemingly deep in his thoughts. Steve and Quentin exchanged a look before Jake, who was just sitting down added.

“Well, that’s quite a welcome, what’s going on?”

Jake arrived at the same time Steve and Quentin did. He was more or less imprisoned here after he ran away from his family estate, hoping to never be found and disappear in the woods. The hospital told his father they were going to try and “fix him” despite Jake telling everyone there was nothing wrong with him. Sadly enough, being trapped here didn’t make him free of his parents' grip, as they asked that they make sure he looks “decent” at all times. The long black and blond hair and red cardigan didn’t really suit him, but he had to wear it nonetheless.

“I got my first appointment yesterday.”

Felix was a well-known architect who Jake had heard off even before coming here. He was on location to get plans ready before he got lost in a dense fog and knocked out by someone. He was found days later and brought to the hospital right away to get his wounds treated, but he never got to know where they found him.

“How was it?”

“It’s just.. weird. They brought me to the 2nd building, you know?”

“The one on the other side? That we can see from our windows?”

“Yeah. They told me they haven’t actually been able to use it because they lost the plans for it and they would like to see if I didn’t have any traumas from the attack I had by making me write the plans of that building.”

“You can do that by just looking at it?!”

Jake looked at Steve.

“Yeah. That’s why he got famous, he can restore anything.”

“Could.”

They all looked back at him.

“Yesterday I… I went from the entrance to the end of the right corridor and on my way back I noticed.. mistakes. I’ve never made mistakes before.”

“Well.. you did get hit-”

“I know I did but… I would’ve felt something was off when I was making the plan first, right? Yet nothing! It was so clear in my mind, I was so sure of myself. And when I came back it was completely wrong…”

“Well… What’s more likely? Your head being a bit out of it or the building literally shifting?”

“Oh, don’t think the answer is that easy.”

The new voice at their table made them look at the guy with the sunglasses who just sat next to Steve. The silence was deafening.

“What? Are only pretty boys allowed at this table? Should I leave?”

Steve had to contain a laugh, but Quentin frowned as he said.

“I know you.”

The man raised an eyebrow.

“I saw you fight the day I arrived here.”

“Ah. Yes. Let me introduce myself.”

He took his sunglasses off.

“Ace Visconti. I’ve been here for a while now. Just got sent to a little ‘alone time’ for a bit. I think you know why.”

He pointed at Quentin as he said so. 

“But enough about me, let’s talk about your friend who thinks the fucking building moved!”

“Well.. I wouldn’t say it moved but… There were some of the pipes that looked different…. As if not going to the same places they were going before..”

“Oh, it’s going to get worse, trust you me.”

“What do you mean?”

He relaxed a bit on his chair, looking left and right before talking lower, everyone leaning a bit to listen to him.

“This place… it’s not right.. At first I thought it was just doctors off the grid but… It’s way worse than that… There’s something weird about it, people disappearing for no reasons, doors appearing where there was none the day before… One day, every bedroom is taken, the next there’s some new people coming in, in a room that just appea-”

“Visconti.”

In a short yelp, the man straightened up on his chair before looking up, a lean man in a tight shirt and vest looking back at him, long hair falling to his shoulder from his hat.

“Spreading nonsense to the newcomers again, are you?”

“Me?! Little old me?! Of course not, Mister Quinn! You know I’m not the kind to do so.”

The man had a short, low laugh that resonated in the chest of most of the people at the table.

“Of course not.”

He looked back at them.

“You’re Park, right?”

Jake jumped a bit when he heard his name, nodding.

“I’ll be seeing you soon. I’m Doctor Quinn, I figured I should introduce myself first. Please don’t be late.”

“... Sure.”

After a firm pat on Ace’s shoulder, the man left, waving at the cook on the way out.

“Damn, you lucky bastard. I wish they’d give me Quinn for my sessions too.”

“Is he.. Is he a good guy?”

They could hear the worry in Jake’s voice, up until now he’s been pretty relaxed about everything here, but the thoughts of actually being medically followed seem to not sit right with him. Ace was about to say something but stopped himself as he saw the face he was making, trying to be as reassuring as he could.

“Well.. I don’t know what type of training he does but… I’ve never heard any ill of him. And he’s never enjoyed hurting others, not like some people here.”

“Wait, what-”

Steve frowned as everyone looked at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ace looked around again.

“Listen, I can’t talk too much but… As I said, there’s people disappearing from here. That’s not without reasons.”

He stopped leaning as soon as a large man came inside the room, trying to avoid eye-contact.

“Ok, seriously we need to stop talking about these things or I’m gonna get sent back to my room, presto.”

“Can I ask something then?”

Steve was biting on the last piece of his bread and proceeded as the man nodded back to him.

“How come you got so much soup, dude?”

They all frowned, some more tired of his bullshit than others, before actually looking at the bowl, then theirs, then his again.

“Probably a mistake, how should I know.”

Ace glanced at the cook, noticing him looking the other way as soon as their eyes met, smirking before getting up.

“You can get some, I think I’ve been seen enough around you guys.”

He started walking to the kitchen counter as he was waving.

“See you tomorrow~”

________________________________

Jake left earlier to get to his first appointment, Quentin getting up a few moments later to get ready too, Felix noticing.

“You’re leaving too?”

“Yeah.. I have to go soon, you too Steve.”

“Oh you’re right.”

Felix watched them get ready, putting his book down as they did so.

“Who are you two assigned to, by the way?”

“I don’t even know. They never told me. They just asked me to get to room 3010.”

“Huh.. Like me then I guess. What about you, Quentin?”

“I think I’m with hum.. Doctor Carter?”

Felix frowned, worry showing in his eyes.

"...Oh."

“... What?”

“I mean.. Damn..”

“What.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know much of him but… It might just be rumors but… His patients are some of the ones we never hear of again…”

“... Maybe they got better and left?”

“Maybe… Maybe. Yeah.”

A heavy silence fell between them.

“Just.. Be careful, please.”

“... Will do.”

They both waved goodbye to their friends and got separated as Steve went into his room. Quentin feels the anxiety creeping in once in the elevator to the doctors' floor, his steps feeling heavier each time he would get closer to the door. After a long sigh, he knocks it right as the bells ring 10 times.

"Come in."

His hand is shaking, he's already anxious and stressful by nature, this situation and the talk he had before that made everything worse. He could feel the door handle getting slippery in his grip as he came inside. He closes the door behind him and stands near it, watching the man in front of him.

What’s with all the doctors in here being absolute giants? The man was sitting and yet Quentin knew he was way too tall for comfort. He was looking through some papers on his desk while typing with his free hand on his computer. Now that he noticed it, the room seemed older than the building, in a clean state but the wooden wall and bookshelves seemed from a different era. He didn't even realise he was still standing at the door.

"Oh, sorry. I'll be with you in a minute, please sit down."

He nodded, reassured by the kind voice yet worried it was a clever lie to trick him. And he'd easily fall for that. He sat down and kept looking around for a bit before going back to the papers that were in the doctor’s hand. His staring brought the doctor’s eyes to his again, quickly going back to his paper, and back to him again. He couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy at that. The man put down his paper and stopped whatever he was doing to put everything away and go back to him.

“I believe you’re Quentin Smith. Would you rather I call you Quentin or Smith?”

“Oh… Quentin is fine….”

“I’m Doctor Herman Carter. I will be taking care of you until you’re safe enough to go back out.”

After that talk with the man back at the cafeteria, and the one with Felix, he had a hard time believing that. But the man wouldn’t just go and tell him “Ah yes, I’m here to torture you until you can’t talk anymore.”. He inhaled deeply before asking.

“What.. Are we going to do, exactly?”

“Well, first I need to know exactly what happened to you. I know you’ve told it many times already, but I need to hear it with your words.”

Quentin grimaced a bit before averting his eyes, his fingers nervously grabbing the torn jean on his knees. The doctor leaned a bit on his desk.

“I know it’s been hard, and people have laughed in your face. But I promise you, I won’t.”

He looked back at him.

“I’m sure you already know we don’t accept any normal cases here. Not mocking our patients is the least we could do.”

He had a point. Quentin relaxed a bit before starting talking, telling him about the exact same thing he’s been trying to tell policemen and doctors alike, about that man he saw in his dreams, the people he killed, how real it felt, how painful it was when he woke up after being knocked out. How he doesn’t think he was attacked by a normal murderer, a human one. And the whole time the doctor kept nodding, adding to his note, not even a hint of disbelief in his eyes. A bit of silence settled between them after he finished his tale, Carter finishing writing his notes before getting up and grabbing a small light and a stethoscope. 

“I see.. And you are sure you were asleep when these things happened? You weren’t sleepwalking or anything?”

He got closer and Quentin tensed a bit, avoiding his eyes.

“I can’t tell for sure but… I always woke up in my bed without any signs of me sleepwalking…”

“I see, that confirms what I thought. Can you look at me, please?”

He did, a bit reluctantly and let him check his eyes, shivering when he felt the cold stethoscope slip against his skin.

“We’re going to run some basic tests and I’ll evaluate what kind of treatment I can get for you.”

He nodded and jumped when he felt a hand through his hair.

“We’ll get that man away from you, don’t worry.”

He nodded again, a small smile creeping in the corner of his lips, a bit reassured. Maybe those were just rumors after all.

________________________________

Steve got to the physical training room mid-afternoon, the place looking like a regular gym but only for him and the doctors to take care of him. He asked multiple times who was in charge of him but they all either avoided the question or told him he won’t be meeting him today. They made a lot of different checks while he was going from exercise to exercise, wondering if he wasn’t being prepped to become a soldier or something close to it. They told him it was just a regular check up, but how come Quentin and the others didn’t have to go through it then? He wanted to ask but knew that he wouldn’t be answered. They all treated him like it was bothering them to do all this, he even heard some chatter while exercising, some guy saying he didn’t see the point to all this. Weirdly enough, they asked him to train with earbuds in after that. Once the sun set, they left him so he could take a break, telling him they’ll be right back. He wiped his neck and forehead with a towel as he walked to the window, watching the orange sky slowly taken over by the deep blue, stars slowly showing, one by one. Before he realised, he had been staring for a while and night had settled.

“Did they forget about me?”

He went back to the door they exited with, trying to open it to find it locked. He pulled a bit more before starting knocking. No answers. In a nervous laugh, he sighed.

“The hell is wrong with these people?”

He tried looking for another door in the room, one wall covered by mirrors, the others by windows with metal bars on them, clearly to prevent anyone from trying to escape. He started hitting the door a bit harder, yelling, asking if everyone’s nearby. No answers. He sighed and noticed a camera staring right at him. His back against a wall, he waved at it nonchalantly before asking while shrugging.

“Are you gonna send anyone or am I fucked?”

He didn’t expect any answers, yet sighed when nothing happened. He guessed he’ll have to spend the night here, despite the cold making him shiver after sweating so much. He was definitely going to catch something after all that. Time passed and he tried to rest on one of the benches he trained on earlier, the cold definitely stopping him from getting any rest. 

Click

The door unlocking resonated through the whole room, crystal clear in Steve’s ears. He got back up as fast as he could, shaking off the trembling and shivering the cold was causing so he could rush to the door, opening it in disbelief.

The heavy hum of the silent corridors contrasting with his room was almost deafening to him, like a creeping anchor stuck in his throat, stopping him from calling out to anyone. He didn’t even remember how to get to his room from there but he certainly couldn’t try and ask anyone, the silence making it clear no one was around. He closed the door behind him as silently as he could, feeling like the slightest sound would awake something. He had no idea what, but he knew this wasn’t normal, and he knew he was in danger. He’s been in danger before, a whole different type of danger, one where you can scream, hit, run away, hit again. This was something else. But he could feel it. That sinking anxiety grabbing his heart and muffling it, telling him he better be careful or he’ll die instantly. For a moment, he thought he was in the Upside-down. 

He slowly walked along the corridor he was in, getting to an intersection on his left and right, having absolutely no idea which way he was supposed to go.

A breath.

He clearly heard it, from the right, making him stare into the darkness the hallway was slowly fading in, squinting his eyes to see if someone was there. His curiosity wanted to go see if it was someone who could help, but his survival instinct was stronger, moving his legs hastily to the left corridor, running inside it until he found a small alcove to hide in. Why was he hiding? Was there really something there, or his imagination was playing tricks on him? But he heard it again. The breath. Deep, low, steady. Whoever he heard it from, they weren’t moving anymore, they got closer and stopped before passing him, waiting, wondering where he was gone. Then it vanished. Steve came out of his hiding place as silently as he could, wary that the person he heard could come back at any moments. He kept walking until another intersection. Still scared that the person behind him catches up to him, he looks behind him as he turns right, his foot hitting the foot of a wooden chair he didn’t see in the darkness. The sound echoes through the whole building, way louder than he thought it should be, and all the alarms inside his body starts blaring. Without thinking, he starts to run.

________________________________

Quentin wonders where Steve is before going to bed, figuring he’ll see him in the morning, he decides to sleep before he comes back. His previous encounter with his doctor makes him wonder if the rumors about him are true, if this place is really as strange as they say it is. So much information in one day and he can barely hold them all in his head as he falls into slumber.

At least, he thinks he did.

Despite feeling so tired not a second ago, his eyes open wide and he grunts as he sits on his bed, looking around. Was the place always so bright at night? He stood off the bed and felt light. Way too light. He looks behind him and gasps in shock as he sees his own body, resting peacefully in his bed. For a second, he feels nauseous, shaking as he gets closer to his own face. Was he dead? How was he seeing himself? Then it clicked. He was dreaming. He had this type of experience a long time ago, but he only remembered it now. Why? When was the last time that happened to him?

Before he could think anymore, he could feel the desperation outside of his room, some hurried voices and footsteps resonating in the hall. He tried opening the door and jumped as he went right through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [spreads confettis]  
> I hope you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much for the lovely kudos and comments, it helps me write more and more!


	3. Training Grounds Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quentin dreamwalks through the building and finds his friend, the both of them facing a terrifying adversary. The day before, Jake had his first appointment with Doctor Quinn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my muse, sir John Carpenter, for his great movie sountracks that helps a LOT writing this.  
> I hope you all like it!

Quentin looks around as he leaves his bedroom, watching the corridor around him, familiar and yet different, as if the walls were older, and the windows weren’t blocking off the cold wind from blowing the outside leaves inside the building, all of them vanishing before they touch the ground they were slowly falling to. But his attention gets brought to the voices, he can barely understand what they’re saying, watching as a gurney is being pushed towards him, a very injured young girl on it, covered in claw marks, barely breathing through her respirator as they rush her through the hall, passing by him without even noticing he was standing there. Everything seemed so slow too, as if he was in a different time lapse. He tried to follow them but stopped as he heard a voice.

“What the hell, what the hell, what the hell…”

Hurried whispers, hushed, rushed, but he recognized it right away.

“Where the fuck is this-”

He ran as fast as he could to the voice, turning left and right through different hallways, hearing so much stuff, so many voices, all indistinct in the constant echo through the whole place. And he found him.

He saw Steve hurrying, looking lost and desperate, searching for their rooms in the maze that this place was. Quentin tried calling out to him, but he couldn’t hear his voice. He could help, he could find a way to guide him back to their room. He followed him, wondering what he was running from, not seeing it as he looked back. But seeing his friend that scared was enough for him to know he needed to get to their room, fast. They ran to another corridor and Steve started panicking.

“Fuck.. I’ve been here before… I’m running in circles-”

But Quentin knew. He knew where to go. How could he tell him? It was straight ahead, then left, then he’ll recognize the cafeteria and the way home. He had to tell him, he had to-

He noticed the potted plant in the hallway, he rushed to it and mustered all his strength to push it, jumping as he could feel the cold stone against his fingers, slowly giving in and falling to the ground. Steve gasped, visibly confused, and mostly terrified that the noise would attract the thing after him. Quentin rushed to a gurney and started pushing it towards the hallway.

“Get the hint, come one, get the hint!!”

Steve frowned and started running towards the hall, Quentin leaving the gurney as soon as he could, getting ready to shake the small table to the next corridor, his friend following the hint instantly.

“The cafeteria!”

Quentin, relieved, smiled as he kept running next to his friend, all the way to their dormitory, stopping when he felt a freezing wind going against him, stopping him as a dark shadow went through him. It was gigantic, terrifying even, yet human. He stared, shivering as the shape stopped and slowly turned around to look at him, the heavy breathing muffled by the white mask covering its face.  
Panic.  
That’s all Quentin could feel right now. He wasn’t seen, wasn’t felt, wasn’t heard this whole time. But this man. This thing. 

It knew.

He rushed back to his room where Steve was already sheltered in, jumping back in his body before waking up in a panic, struggling to get air back in his lungs, looking at Steve sitting on the ground, trembling after running for so long.

“H-Hey do-”

They both stopped, looking at the door in terror as they could hear the slow, steady breath, coming from it. Constant.

Steve whimpers and slowly crawls back to their beds, staring at the door, Quentin standing up and checking it's locked before the breath slowly fades away, heavy footsteps following it. They both heavily sighed and Steve started sobbing uncontrollably.

“Shit- I’m sorry I- Just got a lot of-”

“Emotions. Yeah. It’s ok.”

Quentin goes to his friends to try and help, jumping when he feels his skin.

“Ok, man. Get to your bed. You’re so cold…”

Steve nodded and went in his bed, shivering, his whole body finally getting all the shock from the chase he just had, he didn’t even shower yet. Quentin put the covers on him, ready to get to his own bed before stopping himself. He looked back.

“Want me to stay with you?”

The nod was all he needed, he slid inside the bed, pressing his back against his.

“I’m sorry, I must be stinking so bad…”

“I don’t care… Try and get some rest.”

“... Thanks.”

Quentin smiled as he heard his friend slowly calming down, turning around to hug him, hoping it will give him reassurance, making him understand that he’s not alone, that he won’t let him silence himself over what happened.

“I… I need to talk about-”

“Ok. Just don’t push yourself, I’ll listen.”

He explains to him how he got trapped in the room for so long, how he saw the sunset, how cold he was. Quentin keeps listening, his forehead against his nape, his fingers kindly brushing over Steve’s arms. He nods from time to time, telling him he’s listening, shivering when he hears his friend’s voice trembling when he starts explaining what happened once he was outside the room. 

“You.. helped me, right?”

“... Kinda, yeah.”

Quentin tells him about what happened to him, how he got out of his body, how he saw that girl on that gurney. The feelings he felt when he heard his voice, how he tried to help him find his way back by pushing things around. Steve calmed down.

“That’s.. amazing…”

He wants to laugh at the voice of his friend, who sounds like a child hearing about some sort of superhero, forgetting, for a brief moment, what he just went through. Quentin’s embrace around him gets tighter.

“I saw… I saw it.”

Steve gulped, shivering a bit.

“What was that…”

“It looked like a man. A very tall… very imposing man but… a man nonetheless.”

Deep down, Steve knew it couldn’t be a creature from the Upside-down. But he wished it was. It’s easier to fight something you already met before.

“I never saw him but I… I felt it… His stare. I didn’t even hear him following me and yet I knew he was here… I-”

Quentin hugged him a bit more.

“He’s gone now. Tomorrow, we’ll ask Felix for a plan of the place… And I’ll help you again. Ok? You won’t be facing this alone again.”

Steve smiled, nodding.

“You.. You should keep your powers between the two of us… At least for now. What if they learn and they stop you from helping me?”

Quentin already made his mind about that. He’s been laughed at before and it led him getting a slash across the chest. He’s not letting that happen again. He’s staying with Steve. He could hear his breath get slower as he was finally giving in, whispering good night as he followed, hoping for a night without nightmares.

________________________________

Jake was the first one to leave after their meeting at the cafeteria, a bit anxious after the brief encounter he had with Doctor Quinn. He knew what he was in for, he knew what was going to happen, not like it didn’t happen before. They’re going to tell him about how easy he has it, about how lucky he is, about all he could do to make himself better. Never questioning why he tried running away in the first place. Never even thinking about the fact that it’s not that he can’t handle the pressure, he just doesn't want to handle it. He wants his own life, his own choices, his own freedom. Away from everything, from anyone who could recognize him. They think he wants away from his high and mighty lifestyle, but it’s so much more than that. He wants to leave society as a whole, he wants to be able to go out in the woods, never to see a car or a building ever again. He wants to be able to wake up and smell the morning grass every morning. He wants to be able to see animals, to live beside them, far away from any form of human contact. And if he has to be alone his whole life doing so? So be it. He didn’t need anyone but the calm and silence of the forest.

Before he realised it, he was in front of the door of Doctor Quinn’s office. He swallowed something stuck in his throat, getting ready to listen to the same arguments over and over and lie over them with a smile. He knocks as the bell signaling appointment starts rings through the building.

“Come in.”

He opens the door and closes it behind him, looking around, a bit taken aback by the place. It was wooden? Yet from the 1st floor, there was only the thick cemented old bricks pulling the place together. Where was this built? He looked at the old walls that seemed like bookshelves yet there were only bottles of alcohol and different weapons he had never seen before. Not that he knows much about firearms anyway. But the room seemed from another timeline, reminding him of his grandfather’s old cabin they used to go to in the desert. In the middle of nowhere.

“You’re on time.”

He looked back at the man sitting at his desk, wiping what looks like a gun, if not for the harpoon-like thing coming out of it. He opened his arms.

“You asked.”

“An obedient child, huh.”

He resisted grimacing at the call, waiting.

“Well, not that obedient though, are we? Please. Take a sit.”

Jake nodded and sat in the only chair in front of the desk, realising said desk had nothing “medical” on it. No papers, no notebooks, not even a pen. Just mechanical parts here and there and oil. At least he thinks that’s oil, he could barely read the label on the old glass bottle. The man put his gun down on the side table before crossing his arms on his desk, leaning towards Jake.

“I know what they told you. You’re here because you ran away and I need to…”

He sighed.

“Guide you back into the “right path”, right?”

Jake frowned before he nodded.

“Well, they lied to you.”

Taken aback, Jake couldn’t hide his surprise, straightening a bit up on his chair.

“W...What does that mean?”

“They couldn’t convince your parents to send you here without talking about “deep therapy” and “a journey to recenter one-self” or whatever else bullshit they said.”

He put his back against his chair.

“All lies.”

The silence was a bit more uncomfortable than he wished it to be.

“Then why am I even here? What do you want?”

“Defensive… Interesting.”

The man stood up, going to one of his shelves to grab a brown bottle and pour whatever was in it inside a glass, the strong smell filtering through the air, sliding into Jake’s lungs.

“You disappeared. For days they looked for you, sent dogs and skilled policemen out in the woods to find you and there was no trace. No footprints, no sound, not even a hint of a human life left. Yet, you were right in the area they looked over. They just couldn’t find you.”

Jake was a bit more reassured, for a minute, he thought this was actually blackmail or a kidnapping, even though it didn’t make much sense, with all the others in here with him. But this seems different.

“You have a gift. Everyone here does. Each of us, different. You? We don’t know what it is exactly, but that capacity to completely disappear. They want to know more about it. Develop it.”

“Who are They?”

The man laughed through his nose a bit, staring straight into his eyes as he took a sip of his drink. Jake couldn’t hold that stare much longer.

“I’ll tell you that once we got better acquainted with each other, how about that?”

He nodded and looked at him sitting back in his chair, noticing the metallic frame holding his leg.

“Now, I’ve told you many things about you. Let’s talk a bit about me.”

Jake had a smirk curling up the corner of his lips.

“I’m guessing you’re not a real doctor?”

“Bingo.”

Figures, after he told him all that.

“I was a bounty hunter. A very well-known one too. Capable of tracing, hunting, capturing anyone. I’m also an engineer, I built most of the machines that helped me capture thieves, murderers, you name it. As you saw, I cannot run to capture my preys, yet I get them each time.”

He put down his, now empty, glass on the desk, leaning a bit more on it to stare at him in the eyes.

“I’m going to hunt you down.”

Jake felt a shiver go down his spine, hiding his finger tightening on his pants. If his skills were as piercing as his eyes, then there’s no way he will be able to avoid him. But he would be damned if he let him see the anxiety slowly crawling behind his heart.

“What do I need to do?”

The man smiled, resting his head against his hand.

“This is a big facility, you know? Behind the walls of this place, there is a whole forest surrounding us, enclosed by the fence you saw when you came in. This whole forest has a training area, where we will be training.”

He let a pause.

“Now.”

His tone was more serious, lower too, sending another chill down Jake’s spine.

“Do not try, and wander off the training grounds. Not only will I find you, but you might not be alive when I do.”

Jake gulped, nodding. His curiosity wanted to ask, his rationality telling him there’s probably just a security system that will take him down as soon as he steps off the place.

“Are you ready to go now?”

He got brought back to reality, nodding.

“Try and be entertaining for at least a bit, will you?”

He watched him grab another gun from his shelf, pushing a cocky smile on his face.

“Oh, don’t be so sure of yourself.”

The man looked back to him.

“You’ll be lucky if you can ever see me again.”

________________________________

“And.. What was that about never seeing you again?”

Jake grunted, trying to get rid of the metallic chains tightly wrapped around his chest and arms. The man laughed and grabbed the back of his arms to help him get up, Jake looked down as he mumbled.

“I wasn’t ready… Next time-”

He gasps as two fingers lift his chin up so he can look in his eyes, his heart missing a skip when he realises how close he is.

“Sorry angel, didn’t quite catch that, care to repeat?”

Jake can barely hide how flustered he got, turning his head away strongly enough to get rid of the fingers, moving the chains under his arms again.

“Can you get that off already?”

The man laughed.

“And bossy with that, no wonder you try to run away from your place.”

In a swift move, the man gets rid of the chains, looping them around his arm before attaching them back to his belt. He patted Jake’s head, shuffling the long hair.

“More luck next time then.”

Jake pushed the hand away. Quinn laughed again.

“Come on, it’s getting late, let’s get back in.”

They both walked back to the building, Jake looking back at the forest behind them, expanding, getting darker and darker.

As they got close to the main door, the doctor pushed Jake to the side in a swift move, protecting him behind his body.

“Wh-”

Before he could ask, a window from the second building shatters as a body is thrown through it, a young girl hitting the floor, covered in wounds. They can barely hear her whisper the name “Steve” before falling unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two rooms, two very different moods, huh.  
> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos!! I know this is a slow development but I'm extremely busy and only write when I got my evening free and all (while playing DBD because what else would I do with my free time, really)

**Author's Note:**

> (this was beta-read after a whole night without sleep so I'm sorry if there's some mistakes!!)


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